Pride and prejudice essay, how to start it?

How can I start it off?
Topic is:

" To what extent does Elizabeth Bennet ignore social restrictions and conventions in her revolutionary determination to choose her own husband?

The prompt asks "to what extent" which probably means that the essay will be about the measure of how extreme Elizabeth's actions are. If you have read the book you can probably come up with a gut reaction answer to this question. So run with it.

Do some freewrites that talk about what she does specifically and how extreme you think these actions are. Talk about how much she is willing to sacrifice and how many risks she is willing to take, etc.

Scan the freewrites and come up with what your main argument is. Condense that argument down into one sentence and there is your thesis. That should get you started. Post what you come up with and if you need help on an outline or body paragraphs you will know where to find us. :)

Tyler, you should really consider becoming an official contributor to this site -- your advice is always excellent.

Desiree, in addition to following Tyler's advice, you might want to start by doing some research and making a list of what social restrictions and conventions existed at the time the author was writing. After all, until you know that, how can you know which ones Elizabeth ignores? Then, list the ways in which she violates those conventions. That should give you enough for a freewrite or first draft, which you can then post here for more feedback.

Thanks guys, started with my list ...